Blinders
by Angela Crenshaw
Summary: Angela consoles Aston about his girl problems, only to find that the pair might have missed what was in front of them the whole time.  Who will be the first to admit it?  A huff/gryffmance.


**Astela**

**Ch****ap****te****r 1**

Why was Aston just so freaking awesome? REALLY! The young Hufflepuff contemplated this as she gnawed on a bit of bacon at dinner time. Angela and Aston had been buddies since his first year at Hogwarts. Sure she had been a year older than him, but it was good to befriend the younger Gryffindor because he was her first real friend in the house of the lions. Her cousin had been right after all, Gryffindor's weren't all bad after all!

Of course, Aston had many epic qualities that are too great in number to list, but the reason said Gryffindor was so awesome today was that he had cheered for her at the Quidditch game, Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor. It was common knowledge to the two friends that Aston wasn't the biggest Quidditch fan out there, but he supported her anyway! He had even made up a little cheer as he rooted on his friend playing, regardless that she was on the opposing team. He could have gotten beaten up for those comments had he been in the Gryffindor stands. That was very brave of him, and Angela appreciated it very much.

"Aston!" Angela said when he came in the great hall. A smile spread across her lips as she hopped up from the table and ran to him, wrapping her arms around her friend. "You little punk!" she greeted with a teasing smile. "You know you could have had raging Gryffindors coming after you with the comments you were making today? Good thing my team lost or you would have been blamed for the whole thing!"

Aston laughed with her as they made their way to the Hufflepuff table. It wasn't unusual for Aston to share meals with Angela. It was the first thing they bonded over when they met. Their love for food. Although Angela boasted about being the biggest eater at Hogwarts, Aston still claimed he could beat her anyday at an eating competition. That was yet to be proven.

"It was nothin," Aston said with a shrug as he filled up his plate as high as Angela had with food. Impressive for someone who didn't get as much exercise as Angela had that day.

"But it was!" Angela insisted, picking up on her bacon where she left off. It's juicy, nommy goodness distracted her momentarily as she basked in the bacony aroma. She could eat bacon every day of the week. Right...she was talking to Aston. "You never have done that before. What's gotten into you?"

She was smiling, yet Aston looked straight to his food. It wasn't unusual for Aston to be distracted by his food too, yet he wasn't eating it. _That_ was unusual. "I can't just support one of my friends in their endeavors without it being treachery, can I?" he said with laugh that came out a bit harsh, short like he was forcing it.

Instantly Angela knew something was on his mind, and her smile vanished to be replaced by a look of concern. Aston didn't fool her at all. Didn't he know by now that Angela wasn't oblivious to things like this? In fact it was almost impossible to pull a fast one on Angela. However, she was never one to demand knowledge of out someone. She would pry it out gently. "Of course you can," she told him. "Not that I could see well from the pitch, but it kind of felt like you didn't want to be over in the Gryffindor stands at all..."

She left her sentence in midair and watched him in her peripheral vision. His eyes flicked to the Gryffindor table, to where his normal friends sat. Her cousin was over there too, which was nothing surprising seeing as he had practically been sitting there every meal since the opening feast when he came to Hogwarts. She had never actually made a connection with any of Jason's other friends besides Aston. She thought Jason might think her 'uncool' if she hung out with him constantly, so she gave him his space, but always made sure there was cousin bonding time where he didn't have to be embarrassed by her.

"I'm sorry for dragging you over here again. Did you want to sit over there?" Angela asked spooning food into her mouth. Aston seemed to snap back to reality when she mentioned him leaving the Hufflepuff table and rejoining his housemates.

"NO!" he said so suddenly it startled Angela. He seemed to realize this as he cleared his throat. "Erm...I mean...no, I eat over there all the time, what's the harm in changing it up once in a while?" He tried to lighten his tone, but Angela noted his nervousness and raised a cautious eyebrow.

"Aston?" she asked putting down her fork. This was serious business. And she cut right to the chase. She knew Aston would probably just evade her questions if she didn't. "Why don't you want to sit with the Gryffindors? Is something going on?"

"Why would you think that?" Aston said playing stupid. With the look Angela gave him, he backed down immediately. "Okay fine somethings going on..." he mumbled looking at his plate. Angela stayed silent, waiting patiently. They chewed their food in silence for a while before Aston continued.

"There's this girl..." That sentence was always the start of trouble. Angela's heart stopped when he mentioned girl troubles. Oh no. She was the _worst_ person to ask for girl advice from! Didn't he know her last relationship crumbled to pieces and she idiocically rebounded on a guy who used to be her enemy. She was _NOT_ smart when it came to relationships. She would probably do more damage than good to Aston. She panicked on the inside. _What do I do? What do I do? _

"That I'm trying to get over..." Aston continued. Oh! Angela wiped the panicked look off her face as Aston spoke. At least she wouldn't have to worry about there being a relationship to damage, just preventing one from happening. That seemed easy enough!

"Oh I see," Angela said trying to keep her calm and sound like she knew what she was talking about. "And this girl is a Gryffindor?" Aston didn't answer, but glanced over at the Gryffindor table. His face turned a light shade of red, and before he looked away, Angela followed his eyes to a pretty little red head that was jabbering on to her friends. One of her friends included Angela's cousin, Jason Baker, who looked positively entranced by what the girl was saying. That was...odd. However, she'd have to deal with that later. Right now, Aston needed her.

She connected the dots silently as her eyes flicked back to Aston. That's why he didn't want to be with the Gryffindors lately. He was trying to give himself some space from her so that he could get over her. She felt pity for her friend, who looked absolutely torn right now. It pained her to see him like this. She didn't want her friend to be hurt over a girl. That would not do.

"Aston," Angela started gently. She had no idea what she was going to say. What does someone say at a time like this? But she was pretty good at making things up on the spot to comfort her friends, so she gave it a go. "I'm really sorry. That must be so hard, being around her all the time. Especially if it's in your immediate group of friends. I've been there, I know."

Aston looked up at her in surprise. "That's right...I forgot. You dated one of your best friends and it didn't work out, did it?" Angela cringed when Aston said it. Sure it had been about a year now since Anthony broke up with her, but did Aston need to say it so bluntly? The past can still hurt, but you can either run from it or learn from it. Angela chose the later. Maybe her past can now help Aston with his girl problems.

"No it didn't," Angela said with a sigh. "But I got over it."

"How?" he asked simply.

"Time," she said with a small shrug. "Anthony and I are great friends, but after the break-up I wasn't keen on spending all my time with him again. So giving the other their space is really what helped our friendship heal."

Aston looked confused. "But...I didn't break up with her. It's just a crush that's obviously not going anywhere..."

Angela waved her hand in the air as to shoo away his silly comment. "It still applies! Look, as long as you're spending a lot of time with her, you can't really get over her, can you? You're still thinking about her constantly. While you're doing that, you might be missing something that's right in front of your face." Angela looked at Aston and paused momentarily, wondering if she had been missing something that had been right in front of her face as well. That...was a scary thought. Why was she thinking this? It made her heart beat faster just thinking about it. But no, now was not the time for that. She shook her head to clear it. _What am I thinking? He came to me for help..._

"But you can't see it because you've got blinders on," Angela continued, hoping Aston didn't notice her awkward pause in conversation. "Trust me, it seems like you're doing the right thing, giving yourself some space from her." She rested a hand comfortably on his shoulder, ignoring the warmness she felt at his touch. Luckily, he looked relieved. "Can...can I eat over here with you tomorrow too?" he asked nervously, as if he'd never sad over here before.

"Of course you can!" Angela said with a broad smile. "My table es tu table...or something like that." The two friends laughed and dug into their meals, feeling much better about the situation. Only Angela didn't notice the couple side-ways glances she was getting from Aston.


End file.
